Resisting Officer in Broward County, Florida

1,592 cases (2025) · Broward County courts

In 2025, Broward County handled 1,556 resisting officer cases with an unusually permissive approach to adjudication withholding. Nearly 40 percent of cases resulted in withheld adjudication—more than double the statewide average of 14.7 percent. This outcome means defendants in these cases avoid conviction on their records despite findings of guilt. Broward's dismissal rate of 5.3 percent also exceeds the statewide average of 2.1 percent, suggesting the county's prosecutors or judiciary are less likely to push these cases to guilty verdicts than their counterparts elsewhere in Florida.

Sentences in Broward reflected this more lenient outcome distribution. The median sentence was 103 days, and 31.4 percent of defendants received jail time, with only 2.4 percent serving prison. The average probation period stretched to 746 days, indicating that even when confinement occurred, court supervision rather than incarceration was the primary sanction.

Citing these figures? Attribution line and monthly data pack.

1,592
Total Cases (2025)
52.6%
Guilty Rate
39.6%
Withheld Rate
5.2%
Dismissal Rate
vs 2.1% statewide, 2025
9.9 months
Avg Sentence (confined)

Not every Resisting Officer charge in Broward County makes it in front of a judge. Of 10,257 prosecutor decisions on Resisting Officer charges (2023-2025), the State Attorney declined to file, dropped, or dismissed 27.6% — in line with the 26.5% statewide rate. These decisions happen early in a case, before trial.

Filed for prosecution
72.4% (7,422)
Declined to file
0.0% (1)
Dropped after filing
2.1% (218)
Administratively dismissed
25.5% (2,616)
Pre-trial diversion
0.0% (0)

Source: Florida Department of Law Enforcement, State Attorney case data (2023-2025). Rates are per charge, not per defendant — a dropped charge often reflects a plea agreement on another charge in the same case, not the case going away. Percentages are of charges receiving a prosecution decision; transfers between courts are excluded. Court outcome data on this page is a separate dataset covering cases that reached disposition. Statewide charging patterns: The Florida Prosecution Report.

I Outcomes

Exhibit · Case outcomes (2025)

Guilty
52.6% (838)
Withheld
39.6% (630)
Diversion
1.8% (29)
Dismissed
5.2% (83)
Acquitted
0.6% (10)

Largest outcomeGuilty — 52.6% of 1,592 cases.

Source: FDLE Criminal Justice Data Transparency · 1,592 cases · 2025 — FloridaCourtFile.com

II Sentencing

Exhibit · Sentencing when convicted (2025)

9.9 months
Avg Sentence (confined)
3.4 months
Median Sentence
2.0 years
Avg Probation
2.4%
Prison Rate
31.5%
Jail Rate

Confinement-type detail below is computed across all available years (2023-2025).

Confinement Type Count Avg Sentence (confined)
County Jail 1,291 5.2 months
State Prison Facility 90 3.9 years

Demographic data reflects systemic patterns in the criminal justice system and should not be used to draw conclusions about any racial or ethnic group. Disparities may reflect differences in policing, prosecution, and socioeconomic factors rather than actual crime rates.

Race Cases Guilty Rate Dismissal Rate
Black 1,070 57.0% 4.8%
Not Available 511 43.8% 6.3%
8.8%
Under 21
26.3%
21-29
36.6%
30-39
17.1%
40-49
7.7%
50-59
3.5%
60+

Exhibit · Disposition trends

Year Cases Guilty Rate Dismissal Rate Avg Sentence (confined)
2023 1,188 51.3% 1.3% 6.9 months
2024 1,575 51.9% 2.5% 6.6 months
2025 1,592 52.6% 5.2% 9.9 months

Quarterly detail

0.7%
1.2%
0.6%
2.6%
2.9%
1.8%
2.4%
2.9%
4.6%
5.8%
5.4%
5.0%
Q1’23 Q2’23 Q3’23 Q4’23 Q1’24 Q2’24 Q3’24 Q4’24 Q1’25 Q2’25 Q3’25 Q4’25

Quarterly figures recompute from monthly disposition counts; quarters with fewer than 30 cases are suppressed.

Level Degree Cases
Misdemeanor First Degree 3,926
Felony Third Degree 388
Misdemeanor Second Degree 16
Felony Second Degree 13
Felony First Degree 10
Felony Life 2
Charge Cases Guilty Rate Dismissal Rate
Traffic Offense 6,643 22.2% 1.7%
Larceny / Theft 3,223 62.6% 1.7%
Drug Possession 2,033 54.5% 12.2%
Trespassing 1,381 55.9% 4.6%
Other 1,341 33.0% 32.5%
Battery 830 54.1% 8.4%
Fraud 992 55.0% 3.2%
DUI 837 82.4% 2.9%

Cite this page

FloridaCourtFile.com (2026). Resisting Officer in Broward County, Florida (2025). Based on 1,592 public court records; last updated September 2026. https://www.floridacourtfile.com/charges/resisting-officer/broward

About this data: Statistics are derived from FDLE Criminal Justice Data Transparency records for Broward County. "Guilty" includes all cases where the defendant was found guilty. "Adjudication withheld" is a Florida-specific disposition where guilt is found but the court withholds formal adjudication under FL Statute 948.01. "Dismissed" includes all cases dismissed by the court or prosecution.

Source: FDLE Criminal Justice Data Transparency · 1,592 cases (2025) · Data last updated September 2026 — FloridaCourtFile.com